There are four main sects with in Hinduism:Shaivism, in which Lord Shiva is worshiped as the main god; Vaishnavism, in which Vishnu is the main god; Shaktism inwhich the female aspect of gods is primarily worshiped and Smartism, in which six main gods are worshipped Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Murugan and Surya.

April 8, 2015

Story Of The Goddess Who Devoured Shiva

Story Of The Goddess Who Devoured Shiva

Did you know that Goddess Parvati devoured Her husband, Lord Shiva?
You must be wondering if this is true. Yes, it is. The Goddess, in Her
Dhumavati form consumed Lord Shiva which then later gave her the form
of an ugly widow.

Dhumavati means smoky. Goddess Dhumavati is the seventh form of the ten 'Mahavidyas'. In this form, the Goddess is portrayed as widow without Shiva.
She has a smoky complexion, and rides a chariot with a flag bearing a
crow or sometimes She is shown riding a crow. She is tall and wears pure
white clothes. She is extremely unattractive and is associated with
negative things like annoyance, greed, distress, failure, sorrow,
loneliness and disgrace. She resides in burning grounds as well. But
despite these depressive features, the Goddess blesses Her devotees with
unnatural abilities and fulfills all their wishes.

Let us find out about the story of this Goddess who devoured Lord Shiva and became a widow.

Story Of Dhumavati

There
are many versions of the story of Goddess Dhumavati. One of them says
that once the Goddess Parvati felt very hungry. But there was no food
available. So, She asked Her husband Lord Shiva to provide some food for
Her. Shiva asked Her to wait for some time and went into meditation.
Unable to control Her hunger, Goddess Parvati became furious, took the
form of Kali and ate up Lord Shiva. Her extreme hunger is satisfied only by consuming Lord Shiva.

However,
when Lord Shiva realised that Parvati has devoured Him, He becomes
angry. As the third eye of Shiva opens, the Goddess is unable to contain
the extreme energy. So, She turns smoky due to the burning energy of
Shiva. She soon realises Her mistake and asks Lord Shiva for
forgiveness. She disgorges Lord Shiva, who curses Her to wander like a
widow.

Another story of Goddess Dhumavati says that She consumed
Lord Shiva to fulfill Her promise to protect Her devotees. Once an
Aghori sage named Malla asks Goddess Kali for a boon to protect him
against all the cosmic forces. Granted the boon, the sage created havoc
for all humans. Lord Shiva took the form of Aghora and tried to kill
Malla. But as per Her promise Goddess Kali came to the rescue of Malla.
To stop Shiva from killing Malla, Kali devours Shiva and becomes a
widow.

Hence, Dhumavati is always portrayed as a widow. She is
the only one of the Mahavidyas without Her consort. She is considered
unlucky and inauspicious. Married couples are advised not to worship
Goddess Dhumavati. It is believed that worshipping this Goddess creates a
sense of wanting solitude and distaste for the wordly pleasures. So,
Dhumavati is worshipped only by the Tantriks and people who have
renounced the worldly pleasures.

Though Dhumavati seems like an
inauspicious and fearsome Goddess yet She blesses all Her devotees with
whatever they desire. She rescues Her devotees from all troubles.
Dhumavati's worship is performed at night in cremation grounds with only
a loin cloth on the body. The worshipper must observe fast and remain
silent for the whole day before worshipping Her. Dhumavati temples are
also very rare. The most famous temple of Goddess Dhumavati is located
in Varanasi where the Goddess is worshipped with very unusual items. She
is offered fruits, flowers along with meat, bhaang, liquor, cigarettes
and sometimes even blood sacrifices.

So, in spite of being a fearsome Goddess who devoured her husband, Dhumavati is an exceptional Goddess with amazing powers